Extremely RARE Mother 1+2 Set Signed by Shigesato Itoi, Creator of EarthBound 

Up for sale is a copy of Mother 1+2 personally autographed by Shigesato Itoi, the creator of EarthBound and the Mother series, as well as a number of other rare items only available at the official Mother 1+2 event held in Japan on June 20, 2003.

Mother 1+2 was a Game Boy Advance compilation of the first two Mother games (Mother 2 is known outside of Japan as EarthBound), released only in Japan in 2003. Prior to the game's release a special event was held at a Tsutaya shop in Shibuya. Attendance was capped at 200 people, even though many more had lined up for the event the night before.

A small number of autographed copies of Mother 1+2 were made available at the event, but they were quickly snatched up. Very few have surfaced since - in fact, to date, this is the only one ever made available outside of Japan.

The lucky winner of this listing will receive:

• Complete copy of Mother 1+2, autographed by Shigesato Itoi (like-new condition, I've personally never opened it)   
• Mr. Saturn paper bag (very rare and in excellent condition, as far as old paper bags go)   
• Mother 1+2 Talk Show ticket (extremely rare and in decent condition)   
• Handbill with messages from Shigesato Itoi, Shigeru Miyamoto, and Satoru Iwata (good condition, was originally folded up like a letter) 
• Official Nintendo Co., Ltd. envelope (good condition, the handbill above came in it) 
• Shibuya Tsutaya bag (good condition, not rare or anything but was used to carry all the above stuff during the event)

Each item is unbelievably hard to obtain by itself - having them all in one set is a spectacular find. For more info about the Mother 1+2 event, check out this site and this short documentary I translated a few years ago:

For reference, I've included many photos of the items for sale below. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

This rare set was owned by an adult collector and was well taken care of. I'll ship this within the USA and also to Canada, Europe, and Australia. For USA shipping, you have a choice between FREE Priority mail with tracking and signature confirmation, or Express mail with tracking and signature confirmation for $37.25.

If you live outside of the USA, I'll send the package via registered mail to make extra-sure the package will reach you. If you live in Canada, you have a choice of First Class International Registered Mail for $19.25 USD, or Priority International Registered Mail for $36.75 USD. If you live in Europe or Australia, you have a choice of First Class International Registered Mail for $25.10 USD, or Priority International Registered Mail for $43.50 USD. If you have other shipping preferences though, feel free to ask!

The entire set:


The autographed game box:


For reference, Itoi's website has photos of him autographing them:


Here are some more shots of the box from other angles:


Although I've never opened the box myself, this end of the box is squished outward ever so slightly:





The back of the box:





I've personally never opened the game, but to make sure it's a complete copy inside I compared its weight with the weight of a standard complete copy I have (1.9 ounces, which is approximately 54 grams):


The game comes in this equally as rare Mr. Saturn paper bag, made specifically for this one and only event:





This Mr. Saturn is saying, "Shibuya is lively."





The back of the bag:


The ticket for the talk show portion of the event. It sounds like not everyone who attended the event was able to attend the talk show portion.


As you can see, it's been folded and has some creases, but is otherwise in good condition:





I've read that the only way to guarantee yourself one of these tickets was to apply for one on Itoi's website, and a limited number of people would be chosen at random. Tickets would then be physically mailed to these winners before the event. Some were given out at the event venue too, but only in limited numbers.


Incidentally, if you're interested, the talk show portion was filmed and can be seen here: Part 1, Part 2 - but note that they aren't subtitled. The gist of the most important stuff is translated into English here, though.

The official Nintendo Co., Ltd. ink stamp on the back:


Also handed out to event attendees was this handbill with a handwritten message from Shigesato Itoi, Shigeru Miyamoto, and Satoru Iwata. This itself is a rare item, as it was only given out at this one event.


Keep in mind that these three men didn't physically write a message on each handbill - the handbills all have the same copied messages:


For those who can't read their Japanese handwriting, the messages have been printed on the side too:





The back of the message sheet:


The message sheet came in an official Nintendo Co., Ltd. envelope:








Note that the envelope is slightly bent in one corner:


All of this will come in the plastic Tsutaya bag:





If you're an EarthBound/Mother fan, this autographed set is for you! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity - don't miss out on this amazing piece of gaming history before it's gone forever!

I have a lot more interesting items for sale, so check out my other listings. I'll even combine shipping on multiple orders!